Inspired by Meek Mill, Michael Rubin sets a goal: Get 1 million people out of the criminal justice system

Updated Oct 17, 2019; Posted Oct 17, 2019

Recording artist Meek Mill, right, speaks about his incarceration along with Philadelphia 76ers partner and Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin at the launch of REFORM Alliance, a partnership among entertainment moguls, entrepreneurs, recording artists, and business and sports leaders who hope to transform the American criminal justice system in January 2019 in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)AP

PHILADELPHIA - Michael Rubin first encountered the criminal justice system when he saw rapper Meek Mill sentenced to prison for a violation of his probation.

“That was a life-changing moment for me," Rubin said.

Speaking at the B.PHL Innovation Festival in the Entercom media headquarters Tuesday, Rubin explained how that moment sparked a movement. The billionaire entrepreneur made it his mission to get Mill out of prison and, following a massive public outcry and social media campaign (#FreeMeek), he was released after five months.

Now, Rubin and Mill, who have been close friends for years, are working to transform the criminal justice system.

In January, Rubin and Mill founded The REFORM Alliance, a partnership of titans in the entertainment, sports and business worlds. They’re focusing on disrupting the probation system, which oversees 180,000 people in Pennsylvania alone, according to federal figures.

The REFORM Alliance is pushing to change Pennsylvania law to reduce the number of years people can stay on probation and to ensure people can’t be sent back to prison for technical violations. About one in four prison admissions nationwide are due to probation violations, according to a study by the Council for State Governments Justice Center.

Pennsylvania is just the first step for the REFORM Alliance. Rubin said the organization’s nationwide mission is to get 1 million people out of the criminal justice system in five years. Nationwide, there are more than 4.5 million on probation and parole.

“One million is a gigantic number,” Rubin said. But he added, “I’m going to be unrelenting until we accomplish that.”

That’s money that could be used for schools or programs to train ex-offenders for jobs. With more people out of probation and working, taxpayers save money, communities are safer and employers have a more robust workforce.

“I hope we can take a little business logic into an illogical government approach,” Rubin said.

Rubin’s got the money and the message to make a difference. He’s the founder and CEO of Kynetic, the firm which owns online retailers Fanatics, Rue La La and ShopRunner. He’s also a partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and a minority owner of the New Jersey Devils.

He lined up heavy hitters to build REFORM. Other founding partners include hip-hop superstar and entrepreneur Jay-Z, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Robert Smith, founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners and the richest black man in America. Rubin tapped political activist Van Jones to serve as the CEO of REFORM.

The group now has more raised than $50 million and is working to convince lawmakers and voters of the need for change.

Mill and Jay-Z are the faces of the movement, Rubin said. Mill has spoken out publicly numerous times for probation reform, even with a packed schedule. “Meek is really involved,” Rubin said.

As more people hear stories of lives broken by the probation system, there’s greater support for change, Rubin said. He cited a Philadelphia Inquirer story published last week which profiled a Delaware County man who was imprisoned for a probation violation; he couldn’t pay $1,900 in court fines.

“That is the most disgusting and unacceptable thing I’ve ever heard,” Rubin said.

Rubin still speaks with a sense of disbelief as he recounts watching Mill get sentenced to prison.

In November 2017, Rubin accompanied Mill when the rapper was summoned to a Philadelphia courtroom for a probation violation for a gun and drug possession case from a decade ago. The probation officer and the prosecutor both agreed Mill shouldn’t go to jail.

“Probation is what tortured Meek his entire adult life,” Rubin said, adding, "If you put me on probation for a year, I’d find a way to screw it up.”

Rubin credited Attorney General Josh Shapiro with pushing him to focus on reform beyond Mill’s case.

“Josh kept saying to me, ‘Michael, you’re all about Meek. You’ve got to make this about something bigger,’” Rubin told PennLive. "He’s the guy that kept pushing me in the beginning. He was always pushing me to do something bigger.”

While Mill’s case has drawn the most notoriety, criminal justice reform advocates say too many people on probation are going to jail for technical violations, such as being late for an appointment with a probation officer or traveling outside their home county.

“Meek wasn’t allowed to leave Philadelphia to go see his kid across the bridge in New Jersey, because he would get arrested," Rubin said. "I’d hear him call the probation officer and beg to go see his kid.”

‘We will not stop’

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who introduced Rubin at Tuesday’s event, said too many people are incarcerated or under court supervision and it’s hurting the city’s economy. “I’m not saying we should be soft on crime," Kenney said. "We should be smart on criminal justice.”

Rubin “puts in the resources and really truly cares about this issue,” Kenney said. “He will help us get this accomplished.”

Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are sponsoring bills to limit probation terms to five years for felonies and two years for misdemeanors. Advocates say the current system, which can allow people to spend a decade or more on probation, is too punitive and expensive. The measures would also create incentives that could reduce probation terms for those who comply.

State Rep. Sheryl Delozier, a Cumberland County Republican, is one of the prime sponsors of a reform bill in the state House. “She’s been great,” Rubin said. “She’s a real champion for this.”

Rubin said he’s spoken with Gov. Tom Wolf, who is “completely committed” to probation reform. Rubin said he’s optimistic that lawmakers will send the governor legislation this year.

Working in the political arena is something new for Rubin.

“I’ve never had to work with government for much of anything I’ve done in my life," Rubin said. “The way people have come together in Pennsylvania has been pretty impressive.”

For his part, Rubin concedes he’s not an expert on changing laws. But he said he has the right team and the right focus in Pennsylvania.

“I think we’re going to make a difference on this issue," Rubin said. "Obviously I’m a paranoid individual. I worry. My brain is always looking at who’s going to try to screw me behind me. That’s the way I’m brought up in business.”

“When you’ve got Jay-Z, and Robert Kraft, and Meek Mill and myself and all our partners with endless capital, on an issue that’s so rife to fix, we will not stop until we accomplish it," he said.

Rubin is not breaking out the champagne yet.

“Our team is in touch with everybody and I continue to get good reports but nothing’s done until it’s done,” Rubin said. “For me, once this is done, I still won’t celebrate. I’ll celebrate when it’s done and it gets the result we expect it to get. We need to get the laws changed and we need to get the results from the laws getting changed that we expect.”